Tortall's Own Trickster
by melanie25
Summary: This one takes place after Trickster's Choice and is about how Aly goes to Scanra to spy where a few things get a bit complicated...a new twist perhaps?
1. A Night in the Life of the Scanran Court

Disclaimer: I Melanie, did not and will not steal or claim any of Tamora Peirce's characters, settings, plots, or ideas that are not of my own creation (although I wish I did) as my own let alone her books themselves. All of the above that are discussed, mentioned, or talked about in any of the Oh Wonderful Writer Above's work belongs strictly to her and not to us unworthy ones who do nothing but drool over her brilliance. Those however that are not in her books belong to me, me, and only me because I am the one who slaved over a slow, stupid computer creating them and will not have my hard work be taken for granted and put in another persons' fan fiction. Gasps for air ok. is that all? Oh it is? Ok, story time children! Oh, and don't hesitate to notice I refrained from using too many (or in some cases none) author notes for those of you who ignore them anyways. . .puffs out chest waste of time.ungrateful . . .

Chapter 1 /b - A Night in the Life of the Scanran Court

_Silky locks, red streaked gold in color, fell in a cascade of curls down eighteen-year-old Alianne of Pirate Swoop's exposed back as she nervously waited to descend the stairs in the surprisingly well-kept palace of the Scanran king, Maggur. She wore a champagne colored gown made of soft velvet. The delicate petticoats were the lightest crinkled gold silk with an embroidered border of beaded roses to make the whole thing set correctly. It was a Tortallan style gown and she felt extremely out of place. Amongst all of the pale, blond haired, blue-eyed ladies, she was a dark stranger. She had at least gotten Uncle Numáir to place a charm on a small bottle of ointment so that her sharp eyes would appear a light color that was bluer than blue when she allowed it drip into her eyes. She enjoyed that five seconds every morning when she could feel the cool, refreshing swirl behind her eyes. Magical. As for her hair, she noticed to her dismay that if she were to spy at the palace as long as she hoped to she would have to cut the dye she used in half. It would be less than acceptable for her hair to noticeably turn an entirely different color under the accusatory gazes of the Scanran court ladies. Better to stretch it out. Thankfully, she had calculated correctly, and though she did not get the strawberry blonde shade she had hoped for, at least it was a nice shade of red-gold. The effect was nonthing less than mesmerizing as she stood gracefully among the wave of blue gowns. Apparently, it was favored in Scanra for the young women to wear blue, since they assumed would look flattering on them (which in most cases it was) but since just about ninety percent of the ladies there wore it, it looked rather, no really boring.  
_

Aly quickly swallowed a wave of nervous nausea and fanned out her skirts as they called out her assumed title. She only hoped that no one knew the fief that bordered the River separating Scanra nd Tortall. Jerking up her chin and pulling back her shoulders, the teenager lurched out of the heavy, dark doors and stood atop a red-veined marble staircase. Remembering she was here to be a spy for the crown, she began to think of how to act the part of a well kept, Scanran girl. Cocking her head ever so slightly she spent a brief minute overlooking the court, trying her best to look the slightest bit obnoxious. A great deal of young men stared anyways, transfixed on this somehow exotically different beauty who burned with a fire that seemed to radiate off her like a light in the dark.

"Alianne of Drought's Valley is Welcome by his majesty and his kingdom." (A/N: I know! I know! Really cheesy but I was stumped.) The jester called out loudly.

i This is going to work. I don't care what they say. /i , Aly thought profusely. i I'll show Da! not only will I be the best spy in Tortall, I'll have the enemy eating out of my hand, waiting to obey my every whim. . . /i she smiled at the thought, her perfect white teeth teasing a pining sigh from a young man below. i You're becoming more and more like your mother every day /i , another part of her said wickedly. Shuddering at the thought, she realized that everyone was looking at her. Aly shook the thoughts from her head and began to slowly descend.

Almost to the bottom, Aly heard a hushed murmur, "Look at 'em men starin' all hungry an such at 'er."

Refusing to turn, she continued her descent but was forced to when the crowd gasped as another woman shrieked loudly, "Can't the wench walk faster? It aint like we got all night!" Aly's face burned with humiliation but she quickly schooled her face into a calm, nonchalant manner. A useful trick she learned from Lady Keladry back at home. A grumble and a push later, a woman was sent rolling down the staircase in her direction, screaming shrilly the entire way.

Without making a noise, she swiftly dodged her off to the side and made a swipe at her, hoping she could slow the unfortunate woman's fall. The woman thrashed so wildly it was nearly impossible for Aly to safely get near her until she hit the ground at the bottom of the stairs with a thump and a sickening crack. Suddenly disregarding her previous plan to remain unnoticed, Aly flew down the stairs to the woman's side, examining her with calculating eyes. The woman, in her mid twenties was short, meaty, and heavy boned - not very attractive by the Scanran court standards.

Aly was preparing to check to see if any bones were broken but thought better of it, nearly a second too late. Noble girls out here are not supposed to know anything about fighting or tactics. Healing perhaps but not the ungifted sort. All she could was pray that the crowds attention had been on the woman, not her, a lowly slip of a girl with not even a name in the court records. "Mithros," Alianne began in quick, fluent Scanran, her eyes slowly surveying the room's company and their reactions. "Do you think she's hurt?"

i Goddess, I sound like an idiot. She just fell down all of those stairs, of course she's hurt. /i 

"Anything broken you suppose?" she asked a pale blond boy sweetly, feigning ignorance. He looked the same eighteen years as her. When he looked up, she was startled to see that his emotional eyes were not a common shade of blue in the country but, faded green flecked with blue-gray. As if a picture of the ocean had been put away for a few hundred years and had faded into the depths of the canvas. She swore she could almost see the waves gently slap against the rim of his eyes…

i Stop it! /i her inner self screeched, i You'll ruin everything, falling in love with a foreigner. Remember all the others? /i Aly ignored the voice in her mind. The boy looked harmless. A servant most likely, though there was something about his searching gaze that unnerved her.

"She just fell down a fell down i those /i Milady," he pointed up at the stairs, "What do i you /i think?" His cultured drawl absolutely dripped sarcasm.

Aly blinked, hurt by the conjecture that she was ignorant. i Did he just do that to me? i she thought, unbelieving. i Isn't that what you /i wanted i him to think? /i her more practical side reasoned. She pushed the contradiction to the back of her mind. i I don't care. Time to fight fire with fire as Da always says. /i 

"Of course I think she's hurt you dolt," was Aly's hushed whisper, "You don't think I know that?

Lets not forget to mention to her nose is obviously smashed into the shape of something that resembles a squash that fell off a three story building... I highly doubt she was born with it that way."

Aly refrained from smiling but she allowed the corners of her red painted lips to be tugged in the tiniest of grins. To her satisfaction, her grim humor left the boy speechless.

"But of course you wouldn't know that because you probably think its normal. Any one can see that. By the look of you, I'd have to say your mother slammed your head into a wall when you were born. My apologies."

The boy frowned at the jab at his mother.

Bending down carefully, Aly pretended to pat the woman's arm in sympathy to mask her actions. "Does this hurt?" she murmured softly, picking up her hand and gently and briskly poking and prodding selected spots on her hands and fingers.

"What do you mean?" She grunted. The result was a painful snort. "My nose feels terrible."

Aly was patient. "I mean does it hurt when I touch you? Here? Okay, how bout here?"

"My hands are perfectly fine. If only you would get yours off me- ouch! Okay yes it hurts there. . .and there. . .and. . .Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Luckily for Aly, the woman was in too much pain to make any sounds loud enough for anyone other then the two teenagers to hear.

"I think her arm is broken right there above the elbow, you see where its swelling? I wont be able to tell from this angle. Its possible its just badly bruised. A few broken fingers, fractured wrist and I think she might have done ok in the legs department but it's hard to tell when your sitting on them, if you know what I mean."

The boy, looking shocked, leaped nimbly off in a short whirl of green and silver cloth, quite different from the blues, golds, whites, and the occasional cream and whatnot tunic or sash here and there . After the boy's announcement of her injuries and a brief chat with the head of palace healers, the woman was carried off on a canvas stretcher that sagged from her weight.

"His majesty would like to speak with you if your ladyship pleases," a young serving boy told her as soon as the woman had disappeared out of view into one of the servant's wings.

I Uh oh /i , Aly thought in a panic as she quickly stood. i It's my first day; I can't have done anything wrong yet. /i 

"Tell him that I'll be there in a minute," she snapped bluntly. "I need a minute alone." The servant's already large pale eyes grew even wider than she believed possible.

"Are you ok milady? Not anyone can withstand an order from him." He paused a second. "'Less ya wants ta' be gutted nice an' messy like.I'll tell 'im you'll be righ' ova."

About to refuse, Aly thought better of herself. It wasn't a good idea.

i It's not the thought of being skinned alive and hung over the palace walls that gets me /i , she assured herself on the way towards the dais. i It's the getting skinned alive and getting hung over the palace walls because they uncovered my identity and got all the information that they could from me is what I'm afraid of /i . With the most charming smile she could muster, Aly dipped a low and sweeping curtsey, skirts spread around her. "Your royal Highness."

(A/N ; Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! It's a cliffie! This ish mai 1st eva fanfic.ive had odders but my comp neva worked.. Ahem.ok sorry. You must think I'm a crappy writer now huh? Ok, fine then! Be that way.oh. So some of you did like it huh? Well in that case bows low and elegant thank you! Thank you all! tearsok, please review.I welcome constructive criticism.if you're going ta flame me at least have a good reason. )


	2. His Royal Highness

(A/N: Alright, I have no inspiration what-so-ever so I will be making this up off the top of my head at the moment so please don't whack me upside the head with your desktop. *shudders* Which you won't.right? Uh oh. I'm assuming by the bored/agitated looks on your faces that you'd rather read on then listen to me.Ok, whatever, read on my young children read! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.ahem, yeah.)  
  
Thank you all for your reviews even though there are only a few. I welcome the compliments and criticisms. I wan't even goin to post the rest of the story but I spose you can say you motivated meh to post this chapster.  
  
Chapter 2- His Royal Highness  
  
The infamous, yet strangely handsome king smiled, his misty blue eyes glinting with a quality that Alianne did not in the least enjoy looking at the moment. She turned away her head in a delicate cough.  
"Look at me.ah!" he nudged the jester roughly.  
"Alianne of Drought's Valley Sire. Yes. Yes, Drought's Valley," he stumbled clumsily as he read from the list. He gasped and scooted over to the bottom of the stairs as fast as his short, stubby legs would move in harmony, where he continued in calling the names of grandly dressed ladies and lords.  
"My dear," he began, his voice struggling to attain a rough coo, "You say you are from Scanra yes?"  
Nearly petrified she nodded before realizing she was being rude. "Yes your majesty."  
"I see, and tell me, where did you learn both how to check a body so like as well as to fool its audience also? It indeed is a fool's trick. Or perhaps not in the least so." He grinned slyly.  
Alianne's mind raced. Drought's Valley is a very poor family, right on Tortall's edge. There's plenty of war there. "There's a lot of fighting going on around there- home I mean, so you could understand that we had to take in a good couple of wounded men so I helped and.and one of them insisted I learned how to survive in such hostile land." Good job!  
  
"I see.so where is this soldier right now? Is he here?"  
Aly quickly slapped a sad, distraught look on her face and murmured, "He was killed sire.umm.at the border of umm.I.I can't remember." You sound like such an idiot you know that? Hurry up with an excuse before I make you kick yourself in front of the whole country's nobles. The king's eyebrows rose so high, they were almost hidden in his beautiful golden mane. "You see, I was just told that his party was killed at the fourth moon past. Near everyone knows that by then almost every raiding party did the fighting on the enemy's side of the river." She bowed her head respectfully in a sort of curtsey, her breath heavy with a mixture of fear and lack of breath, "Sire."  
"You are quite the educated one. In fact my dear Alianne of Drought's Valley, I assume that in order to acquire such skill and knowledge, it required a vast quantity of sneaking, lying, deception, and of course plenty of charm."  
'I am so dead. Why did he lower his voice? Is this the part where he whips out his sword and dices my brain into cat meat? Oh dear.uh.Goddess, Mithros, Kyproith.Kyproith? That's it! Kyproith.'  
"But of course, I'm charm is a trait that you do not lack in the least. I have a request for you, but I doubt you would like it to be if I didn't impose on it till the end of the ball," the man gestured, "as it would not be fitting for the rest. I wish you a grand time Lady Alianne." He slowly bowed his head a fracture of an inch and kissed her quivering fingertips before raising his voice, so deep and rumbling that it resembled the roar of a great lion. The crowd's hushed whispers turn into frenzied chaos as drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and music was whisked into the room like a hurricane, and the infamous king announced with a semi-wicked smile, " Let the festivities have begun!"  
  
(A/N: I think I'm goin to b famous fo writing dha shortest, most boring chappiez in dha while site..but dhats ohk cuz I hav mai trusty side kick- Okay.iono wut else ta say odder den dhat dis was poorly written.unless u think oderwise.yep. Okay, happy reading! *grins* Nightie night children) 


	3. Dancing, Candles, and a Lover's Moon

(A/N: dang, I wrote this lyk...how many months ago? I was just too lazy to put it on the site. If u wanna disclaimer, go look at chapter one and read it again, and if you wanna read the stupid chapter instead of this, y aren't u reading it then?! Everything taken care of? O well, too bad, just read and review the retarded thing.)  
  
Chapter 3 – Dancing, Candles, and a Lover's Moon  
  
A band in the corner played a catchy tune that sounded so mischievous that Ali was positive that had her mother been here she'd be off in her room muttering some horrible fate for prodding parents. A girl, around ten timidly ushered her to an elderly man that had her seated at a table with five others. Two of them were female, both blonde haired and blue eyed. The taller and more slender of the two, probably in her early twenties wore a pinkish lavender dress that looked just as delicate as the owner who tightly clutched the arm of a thin, clean-shaven man with dull, dark brown curls who had the tired, crackling honey eyes of either an inventor or a mage with such strength that it seemed he lacked the need for circulation in that area. Appearing to be in his early to mid thirties, he was obviously not a full-blooded Scanran if one at all. They made an interesting couple, since the female towered over her partner by almost a full head. They both smiled widely and broadly at the whole room with flashing white teeth. The other woman looked older, about her late twenties or early thirties even and only came to Alianne's chin. Her skin strained tightly against the cloth of her low cut, sky blue dress. Her arms were covered in a heavy, white lace shawl so that one could only see her small hands with their violet manicured fingernails. Her plump, pink painted lips were set in a pout beneath a small nose, and bulging blue eyes all on a ever so slightly tanned face. She was no special prize but the way she set herself made her vaguely attractive. The man who stood beside her was the typical Scanran and tall. Rather boring in appearance, he stood alone, slightly apart from the rest of the party. The last remaining man stepped forward and introduced himself.  
  
"Evening fair maiden," he drawled.  
  
He bowed low and whipped her hand up in a delicate kiss from his sensitive lips.  
  
He glanced up at her with a wide, mischievous grin, "Heh," he laughed in a rich, mesmerizing tone. "We weren't quite introduced beforehand I'm afraid."  
  
Alianne stared at him, her lips slightly parted and closed although not a sound came out. She was absolutely paralyzed. This couldn't be the young man from earlier. Before he had sounded merely like some servant boy but now he was evidently the Scanran court flirt.  
  
'Stop acting like those idiot ladies back home and say something instead of falling for your everyday player.' Quite prepared to set a yearning stare on her face and say some nauseatingly sweet remark she opened her mouth but her mind had other ideas. "Hi. I'm Alianne, nice to meet you. Now let go of my hand before it withers. You're drooling on it," she snapped, ruining the moment (which was very much unlike her).  
  
The boy looked so shocked this time that reassembling all of his dignity he shot up and retaliated, "I am certainly not drooling and you have about as much of a romantic vibe as a...a rock...no, a block... of, of wood, no, even better, a sandal! Ha!"  
  
But it was too late because Ali was trotting away and half the hall's company was staring at this crude, inelegant young man. He gulped. "Sorry already, she was mean to me too you know! Gods these people sure are nosey..."  
  
// After dinner...//  
  
Later, as the ball progressed in another room known as the Candle Gallery for its variety of large, candle lit balconies and staircases that overlooked several large gardens, grandly dressed peoples twirled, danced, and flirted as small groups of both men and women encircled most often two or three members of the opposite gender hoping to get lucky one way or another (if you catch my drift). One group in particular, consisting of both married and single men and women all offered drinks, fruits, pastries, fans, and dances to a rosy cheeked Ali. She gently fanned herself with the red silk, Yamini ladies' fan she had received from the queen as a gift for her seventeenth birthday.  
  
It was as much a decorative item as it was a deadly weapon. She had at first admired the intricate gold embroidery and had expected to treat it as a show and tell accessory at court functions until her mother had persuaded Ali into taking lessons on its use from one of Princess Shinkokami's ladies in waiting along with her. Now she appreciated the classes because she could use it if she was ever trapped in a quick fix on any mission because it both was small in size and held its own disguise. Now a pair of teenage girls- twins, admired it.  
  
"What a pretty fan you have there, where did you get it?"  
  
"Is it Yamini? I remember Papa brought something home once that looked just like that but it wasn't so well made."  
  
"Is that part metal? Or is it real gold?"  
  
"I think its just painted wood Niecie'." She said the other girl's name teasingly. "May I see it please lady?" the girl, fifteen by her size, asked eagerly.  
  
"Oh yea, make me sound like the ignorant one while you act as blunt as a doorknob why don't you?!" the other trilled, shoving her sister angrily.  
  
With a exasperated sigh, Ali tried deciding how to politely refuse when she instead asked, "Excuse me girls, what are your names again?" They froze in place, red at the ears in embarrassment.  
  
"Bernice of Emerald Quarries," the first girl to speak squeaked, suddenly shy beneath the short pale ringlets of hair, which were pinned back out of her eyes.  
  
"And I'm Trisana of Emerald Quarries, pleased to meet you." Trisana dipped a curtsey, her matching springy curls bobbed freely around her freckled face like bouncing, flaxen springs. "Don't mind my sister, she trying to fetch herself a husband so she's rather shy...and the matchmaker said she was out of her league! Imagine!" She grinned evilly and hastily nudged her sister who also curtsied gracefully red as a beet.  
  
"Thanks Tris," she muttered darkly.  
  
Shortly after, the two were asked several times to dance, as were many others and Ali became very bored. The moment it was noted that the two teens were last seen leaving the hall with their latest male dancing partners quite on the intoxicated side, Ali decided it was her turn for fun before she began attending the baby showers and weddings of a particular pair of girls.  
  
Snapping shut the fan, Ali tucked it into a hidden pocket amidst her voluminous skirts and flirtatiously batted her red lashes. "Well?" she began sweetly, "aren't one of you young fellows going to take a poor lass for a dance?"  
  
//Much, much later...//  
  
Dizzy from a combination of spinning and spirits, Ali collapsed into a rather comfortable chair on a dimly lit balcony, suspiciously unoccupied (A/N: hmmm, I wonder...*grins evilly*). Ready to doze off drunkenly and be ridiculed for the rest of her stay she was saved when a golden crowned man, hair swept back from his forehead, oiled, and neatly combed, perched himself boyishly next to her, red faced and out of breath from either hard running or dancing. She couldn't tell.  
  
"You see tha' thurr? Wha' ish it?" Ali asked as she pointed to the sky.  
  
"What? You mean the moon?"  
  
"Yea, bu' wha' kinda moon hmm?" her words were slurred, the slowly creeping effect of drinking twenty or so glasses of wine and then spinning yourself silly.  
  
He flipped a lock of hair out of his face just to have it fall back in place. "A full moon?" The man began to wonder whether this woman was sane or not.  
  
"Nooooooo. Ish a luva's moon you shilly shilly!" she giggled like a toddler given sweets before supper.  
  
She stood up abruptly and pointed accusingly at the next balcony over. " 'Ey youse guys! Stop tryin ta make a kid chrough your thwoats!" she cackled evilly and continued to scream insults at them (Thankfully it was too dark and far away for them to see the owner of the savage who dared interrupt their "business" although they did try by squinting and waving a few candles out on their outstretched arms).  
  
"You look pretty tired," he noted nervously until the light hit Alianne's red face.  
  
'Hey! It's her!' he thought frantically, 'She's not crazy! She's probably just trying to make me go away or ruin my reputation or something. Well, she'll see that no one out fox's Sir Alexander of Copper's Sweep! Ha!' "Hey you! Lady Alianne!" She whipped around and fell into his lap.  
  
"Yesh?" she swayed back and forth in place.  
  
'Hmmm...,' he mused, 'Stay and enjoy the moment or continue and ruin my chances forever with the most gorgeous thing in silk and shoe leather...'  
  
Against his will his mouth said haughtily "I was trying to say earlier before you so rudely stomped off, that I was certainly was not drooling and that you have the romantic vibe of a..." he was cut off by the sigh that escaped Ali's lips as she snuggled into his lap. He hesitated and then pushed her off his lap and set her down next to him instead. In her new position, she quietly eyed his tunic with a little too much interest for his liking. Remembering where he was he sputtered, "...a...ah yes, no. no, it was a candle wasn't it? wait...or perhaps it was a-"  
  
His rambling was interrupted by Alianne's seductive murmur, "Well, in case ya haven no'iced," she flicked her fingers towards the glowing candelabra, "youse may fink dat candoes are nice an' all bu' in my book dey're vewie womantic. "  
  
With those last few words, she fell drowsily into his lips.  
  
(A/N: oOoOo. Ahhhhh. What will happen next I wonder? Will they get caught? Will they remain all alone to carry on the rest of the night? *wink wink* Or will some overly dramatic event take place bringing them to their senses? You choose the cards, or perhaps you won't... This is my story and there's nothing u can do about it! *evil cackle* god I luv dune dis to yall! Anyways, I'll be seein yah) 


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